Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne is expecting 'another tough game' against Crewe Alexandra when the two sides face off in the Emirates FA Cup First Round replay at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday evening (7:45pm kick-off).
The Rams and the Railwaymen played out a 2-2 draw in the initial First Round clash earlier this month to set up the replay in Derbyshire, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Hourihane both scoring late on for Warne's side, but the tie must be settled this time around.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the match, Warne reflected on Saturday's 3-0 home win over Barnsley in Sky Bet League One and looked ahead to the clash with Crewe.
On Joe Ward and Conor Washington's fitness...
Wardy is OK, he is training today and he will be with the squad. Wash, we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully he will train and play tomorrow night. I thought he did well at Crewe in the first match, so hopefully he will be involved.
On Crewe Alexandra...
They are really well organised and a threat up top, which we knew anyway. They caused us problems at times at their place, although we had a lot of the play. They are coming into this one off the back off a late win against Notts County at the weekend, which is a massive boost for them, and both of sides come into this one in good form. It was a really tight game last time and I know it will be another tough one, which we will look forward to.
On the dynamic of the game...
We don't have to reiterate so much of what they do and don't do as the lads have retained a lot of that information and it's a bit of a touch-up job today. There will be clips on how we played against Crewe last time and how they played at the weekend and if there were any little changes. It's easier because they know if we make an error against this team or any professional team, there's a good chance they might score and Crewe did that to us at their place.
On the side's recent run of form...
I'd like to be higher in the league but I've been pleased for the most part since the start of the season. If we win our game in hand we are only a point behind Peterborough United and they are one of the in-form teams. Our actual form is really good and I thought the lads looked really fit in the second half on Saturday against Barnsley. This is normally the time of year where my teams kick in and I thought we looked really strong and hopefully that can continue with another strong performance in this cup tie.